LHC orders strict action against smoke-emitting vehicles

• Demolish smoke-emitting factories if they do not comply with orders: LHC.  
• LHC orders deputy commissioners and SHOs to come out in the field.
• Warning has been issued to factories, Lahore commissioner tells court. 

LAHORE: In order to curb the rising smog levels, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the authorities concerned to take strict action against smoke-emitting vehicles.

The court also gave conditional approval for continuing construction work on the Babu Sabu interchange project. Justice Shahid Karim issued the orders while hearing different petitions seeking the court order to check rising smog.

PM2.5 concentration in Lahore is currently 26.2 times times the WHO annual air quality guideline value, according to IQAir. 

Smog is a type of air pollution that is a mixture of smoke and fog. It is usually caused by the release of pollutants such as vehicle emissions, industrial fumes, and smoke from burning fossil fuels. Brick kilns are known to be a leading cause of air pollution in the northeastern part of Punjab.

At the outset of today’s hearing, Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa apprised the court that a warning had been issued to factories in Kasur and assured that surprise visits would be made to implement the court’s orders.

He submitted that efforts were being made to raise awareness among the people for the plantation. The commissioner further submitted that a ban had been imposed on digging roads and places without prior approval.

However, the court noted that it imposes a fine but environmental officials reduce the fine after manipulation. The court observed that first a fine should be imposed on smoke-emitting industries, if they did not comply then demolish them.

The court also came down heavily on the city’s deputy commissioner over inaction and observed that deputy commissioners and police station officials (SHOs) should come out in the field.